f the period. The mind of the nation was unfixed;
men had not as yet resolved themselves into those grades and classes,
by the means of which public opinion is brought to bear upon individuals
from those of his own condition. Each was a law unto himself, suggesting
his own means of advancement and estimating his own powers of success;
and the result was, a general scramble for rank, dignity, and honors,
the unfitness of the possessor for which, when attained, brought neither
contempt nor derision. The epaulette was noblesse; the shako, a coronet.
What wonder, then, if she, whose personal attractions were so great, and
whose manners and tone of thought were so much above her condition, had
felt the stirrings of that ambition within her heart which now appeared
to be the moving spirit of the nation!

Lost in such thoughts, I turned homewards towards my quarters, and was
already some distance from the convent when a dragoon galloped up to my
side, and asked eagerly if I were the surgeon of the Sixth Grenadiers.
As I replied in the negative, he muttered something between his teeth,
and added louder, "The poor general; it will be too late after all."

So saying, and before I could question him further, he set spurs to
his horse, and dashing onwards, soon disappeared in the darkness of the
night. A few minutes afterwards I beheld a number of lanterns straight
before me on the narrow road, and as I came nearer, a sentinel called
out,--

"Halt there! stand!"

I gave my name and rank, when the man, advancing towards me, said in a
half whisper,--

"It is our general, sir; they say he cannot be brought any farther, and
they must perform the operation here."

The soldier's voice trembled at every word, and he could scarcely falter
out, in reply to my question, the name of the wounded officer.

"General St. Hilaire, sir, who led the grenadiers on the Pratzen," said
the poor fellow, his sorrow struggling with his pride.

I pressed forward; and there on a litter lay the figure of a large and
singularly fine-looking man. His coat, which was covered with orders,
lay open, and discovered a shirt stained and clotted with blood; but his
most dangerous wound was from a grapeshot in the thigh, which shattered
the bone, and necessitated amputation. A young staff surgeon, the
only medical man present, was kneeling at his side, and occupied in
compressing some wounded vessels to arrest the bleeding, which, at the
slightest stir of the